Chahal: 'We are not getting it right death'

Royal Challengers Bangalore won its first away game this season here on Saturday and Yuzvendra Chahal, its pick of bowlers, admitted there was a lot of learning still to do for the side if it hoped to make the playoffs.

Yuzvendra Chahal exults after dismissing Jason Roy in New Delhi on Saturday.

Royal Challengers Bangalore won its first away game this season here on Saturday and Yuzvendra Chahal, its pick of bowlers, admitted there was a lot of learning still to do for the side if it hoped to make the playoffs.

For that, RCB need to win its remaining games as well – two of which are away – and hope for other results going their way. And bowlers would be key. “When we are playing for India, we have the best bowlers like Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) and Jasprit (Bumrah), who both are death specialists. In the IPL, there are youngsters who are playing for the first time in front of big crowds, which puts them under pressure.

READ: Before England tour, Chahal to have sessions with Hirwani

“I was the same as I have also come through the IPL. They are learning. We are not getting it right at the death but we are trying to see what best we can do,” Chahal said after the win against DD.

The leg-spinner admitted bowlers needed to step up even with small totals. “We reached the finals in 2016 because the batsmen put on 200 runs in almost every game. But that can’t happen every time, and as a bowling unit, we must know that we will not get 200 runs to defend every game. On some occasions, we have to defend 160 too.

“The wicket in Bangalore is helpful for bowlers this year and if our batsmen still get us 180, it's a huge plus point for us,” Chahal reflected. RCB has managed to breach the 200-run mark only once this season but lost that game as well.

His counterpart from Delhi Daredevils, Sandeep Lamichhane, was more excited about actually getting to play than anything else. For the 17-year old Nepalese debutant to be then asked to open the bowling was a dream come true.

“To be honest, I have never opened the bowling before, not even in international cricket. This was the first time and so I was very excited about it. I had worked hard yesterday with the new ball as well and it paid off,” Lamichhane said.

Lamichhane is now looking forward to plying his skills across the other T20 leagues. “These kinds of leagues can help you grow. I will be playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (in the Caribbean Premier League),” he said.